Thread: Shark Shields

Does anyone who spends a bit of time in the water use one of these ie: Ocean Guardian ? Been diving a bit around Ruapuke etc, wont be moving from down south in the forseeable future and I cant help but think its only a matter of time before a white shows up and its an experience I dont really want to go through. Am I just being overly paranoid?
I cant help myself searching google etc for information on the Foveaux whites and ive gone and messed with my confidence under water now!

whats wrong with the good old 270..

Spend your money on a float boat.
Sharks are in the ocean, the more you see them the more relaxed you will get around them.
I use to be paranoid too but the reality is that you are a million times more likely to die on the drive there or back home.

This is why we have lakes and swimming pools

as a kid I vividly recal whole family holidays in kerikeri...when I say whole family......6-8 of Dads ten siblings with all the kids in tow would all camp on same private beach...awesome times....how is it relevant??? well the cussies were real water babies,always diving,swimming or boating...then this movie called JAWS came out...and it putthe heebeejeebees up everyone for some time....back then the special effect numbness hadnt been born yet...you saw and believed, or the subconscious did anyway.......you dont need a shark sheild...just a slower swimming dive buddy.

I guess it comes down to what you hope to achieve with it. If you want to gain a little peace of mind then sure, however I remember them saying that most of the testing was done on smaller shark species so there's no guarantee that its truly effective vs whites. Then there is the reality of using it, because of how it discharges electricity into the salt water to make the magnetic field its possible to give yourself a mild electrocution if the cord hits you while swimming. There's also a product called sharkbanz, I wouldn't say was as effective but would certainly be more care free and likely better than nothing.

There are a number of shark shields out there and there is only one that is proven to work and is even required by mandate by the Australian govt for abalone divers. That model is the Sharkshield Freedom. I've bought all the other ones including the Sharkband and the Espear and they're all full of it. The Espear would emit a pulse which felt like holding onto an electric fence, but they released the product before doing enough testing and all of them had to be recalled due to breaking down upon charging. My one stopped working, then I got a replacement and that stopped working too. I don't know about down South but Great White numbers have really increased here in the North Island. I'm selling my diving gear shortly and going to pick up a Stone Glacier bag lol. Fking shame but having seen GWs in person, I know for a fact that it's just a matter of time before I have an encounter.

Dress up as a killer whale!

We have a few GWs here and the abalone divers are the only ones that seem to use a protective device. Not 100% effective as a guy was taken some (10?) years back wearing a shield.

After our last fatal attack on a guy (last week) from my suburb, our shark biologist reported only 750 adult GWs between Aust and NZ. 10 000+ juveniles though. Chances of being taken are low unless your diving in a mullet or other bait run, seal area.

Originally Posted by Gibo

Dress up as a killer whale!

and post pictures here

I figure you're not going to see the one that bites you, so don't stress.

Having had a shark in my fins and not known at the time what it was (I thought it was my dive buddy trying to make me sh!t myself, which it did, but not for the reason I thought) I haven't changed my mind.

How did I know I had a shark in my fins? My dive buddy told me afterwards. It was following me around and when I stopped suddenly on the bottom it ran into my fins.

I had no idea.

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Try to avoid mullets personally, very westie and 80’s...

Easy on! Nothing wrong with a mullet.

Hahaha thats what saved you ( not shitting yourself ) Fishing at Mayor Island one day and heard a baby shark ask his dad why they swim round n round people before they bite n eat them, his father said they taste better without the brown stuff in them.

Originally Posted by davetapson

I figure you're not going to see the one that bites you, so don't stress.

Having had a shark in my fins and not known at the time what it was (I thought it was my dive buddy trying to make me sh!t myself, which it did, but not for the reason I thought) I haven't changed my mind.

How did I know I had a shark in my fins? My dive buddy told me afterwards. It was following me around and when I stopped suddenly on the bottom it ran into my fins.

I had no idea.

Yeah, nah.

Like others here I'm still traumatized from JAWS version 1. Happy to be on a boat, happy to watch sharks all day long - on TV... but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind I'd be walking on water if one was anywhere near me in the water.

in todays episode of "looking at shark stuff on the internet even though I know it screws with my confidence in the water" I found this gem, hard case... sortof



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m3N_BnVdOI